Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia

Driver Quotes - Sunday 4 October

Oscar Piastri "P6. It was a very mixed and chaotic race today. We took a gamble at the start with the slick tyres, and then immediately boxed for Inters, but the change was the right call, and the Safety Car timing allowed us to minimise the effect of it. We improved a lot on the Hard tyres, especially in the second stint where we were catching Leclerc, which the final Safety Car cut short. However, we just didn't have the pace we needed today to make a lasting impact.

"We know the work we have to do and that we need to keep pushing and bringing further developments to the car to close that gap - we can see the progress our rivals are making, which was clear from Red Bull's performance this weekend. Our new parts are performing as expected, but everyone else is also improving, so we are not currently in the fight for wins. We'll review it all and then focus on Singapore."

Lando Norris "Ultimately, today boiled down to a few key issues. The initial gamble to start on the Medium tyres didn't work out; the grip just wasn't there as we had anticipated, it was a collective decision, and in hindsight, it was the wrong one. However, we also simply weren't quick enough, and we have to be honest about that. The car is lacking pace, and we need to improve it significantly if we want to be competitive. I don't think we could fight for more than P6 and P7 today, regardless of how we executed the race.

"The incident behind the Safety Car was my mistake. The pack ahead checked up much more suddenly because of the situation with George, and I just got caught out. It was a very unusual and unlucky situation, but at the end of the day, it's my responsibility to manage that. I know I could have done better today, just as the team knows we have work to do in making the car quicker. We will learn from today and turn our focus to preparing for Singapore."

George Russell: That was another tough and disappointing day for me amongst several we have had this season. It is pure bad luck, but it still hurts. It is particularly tough as we were on for a podium and a great result for the team. I made a great start on the Intermediate but struggled a little once we moved to the Medium tyre. I felt much better once we were on the Soft compound and, whilst we were never in the fight for the win, our pace was good.

It's such a shame to retire from the race when we were looking comfortable in P3. It would have been important points in the Constructors' for the team and a double podium would have been a lovely reward for our Title and Technical Partner PETRONAS as their home race.

It's not been an easy weekend, but our race pace was better than our qualifying performance on Saturday. That is encouraging but we will work hard as a team to understand why we have underperformed overall here in Malaysia and how we can make sure we are stronger in Singapore. It has been a tough season on my side of the garage, but we will keep fighting.

Kimi Antonelli: Overall, given our struggles this weekend, I think P2 was the maximum we could have achieved today. The conditions were really challenging, both with the difficult call on which tyre to start on, when to stop to take the slicks, and then when to stop and what compound to take to ensure we held on to second. The team did a good job with those calls, and I am pleased we were able to score solid points.

Despite that, we leave Malaysia frustrated. Our pace hasn't been where we wanted it to be and we weren't able to fight for victory. It was also extremely disappointing to see George retire when we were so close to such a good result for the team, and a double podium at what is one of the most significant races in our season. We will work hard ahead of Singapore to understand how we can improve and make sure we perform more strongly next weekend.

Max Verstappen: "What an incredible result! The race was not made easy for us with all the decisions we had to make and then the Safety Car at the end on top of everything. But we made all the right calls with the tyres, kept our cool, and it all paid off. Of course, to win a race in the first year of being a new power unit manufacturer is honestly just incredible and something everyone should be really proud of. We knew from the start that Red Bull Ford Powertrains built a strong engine and also knew the limitations too. Although it was hard at times, and we sometimes didn't believe we could get this win, we kept pushing. The Team has also been working hard to understand our issues and brought performance upgrades to the car. Step by step, we have been getting closer and today we did it, which is really special and an emotional moment. It is an incredible project and winning in our first season together is a fantastic feeling."

Isack Hadjar: "Even though we managed to score P5, I am obviously frustrated. The car didn't feel as good as it did on the previous days, and then I didn't have the power after the restart at the end for two laps. If this hadn't have happened, I am sure I would have been on the podium. Despite this, it was a good overall result for the Team. I can't wait to look at the data and see what happened, then regroup and go again in Singapore. It is a track that I really, really like, so I will of course be pushing for the best result possible there."

Charles Leclerc: It was an eventful race. A lot of things went wrong in the first part, and everything that could have gone right did in the second part, so I would say P4 is a good result today all things considered.

I collided with Nico (Hülkenberg) on lap 1 as I started on slicks and the track turned out to still be very wet. It was a close call which tyres to start on, with a mixed grid, and we will learn from today to be prepared should these conditions come up again.

We're heading to Singapore next, so let's see what we can bring home for the team there.

Lewis Hamilton: Sepang is always a great track to race on, but today is definitely one of the most memorable. It was a really demanding race and not an easy one to manage from the start, but the team did a fantastic job staying calm and executing well after a difficult opening phase.

We found ourselves on the back foot very early on with the tyre choice, yet everyone stayed focused and kept pushing. We didn't give up despite a big gap building straight away, and step by step we managed to fight our way back into contention and keep the pressure on until the flag.

To finish on the podium after the way the race began feels really satisfying and is a great reward for the hard work, determination and resilience everyone showed today. A big thank you as well to the fans, who were incredible all weekend.

Alex Albon: "A tricky race. We were on the right tyre at the start, the call for inters was spot on, and it was nice to be in the mix early on. Then the track dried out and we lost a bit of ground. The double stack didn't help, and with a flat spot on the softs we had to come in earlier than we wanted. We had a few issues throughout the race, including the brakes and a gearbox problem that ended our race. It's unfortunate, but we're lacking overall performance right now, and that's what we're really focusing on in our debriefs. We just want a smooth weekend and a feeling of progress, and we'll keep working to get that. I'm looking forward to Singapore, another home race for me, and hopefully we can fight further up the midfield."

Carlos Sainz: "We did everything right at the start of the race and managed to climb all the way to P6. Unfortunately, after getting hit at the first restart I dropped quickly down the order and it was very tough for us to recover. It is a pity because we had a chance at holding on to a good result. We also need to look into race execution and make sure we have a better overall weekend next week in Singapore. We'll try to bounce back and keep pushing."

Arvid Lindblad: "Today was definitely action packed with all the pit stops and Safety Cars. We finished with an amazing result and the team did a really good job making all the right calls at the right moments, so massive credit to everyone. Even though I feel like I could have done a bit more on my side, there are definitely a lot of positives to take from today, especially as it was my first time driving in the wet. We're now moving on to the final leg of the triple-header, and with Singapore being a Sprint weekend, I'm hoping we can pick up some more points and have another interesting race."

Liam Lawson: "It feels great to be taking home double points from the Bahrain GP in Malaysia, as we continue to fight for P5 in the Championship. I had one of the best starts of my life today and then we managed to maintain a strong position at the front of the midfield for the duration of the race. Our car has been very good all weekend and the strategy throughout the race was on point. Seeing our Power Unit take home the victory also rounds off a solid effort from the team both back at the factory and trackside, so a huge thanks to everyone. We'll be taking all the positives and learnings from this weekend as we head to Singapore tonight. It's a Sprint weekend for the first time there too, so I'm looking forward to maximising all the point scoring opportunities."

Lance Stroll: "We came to Malaysia knowing this track would suit our car slightly better - less power and grip limited so that helped us. It was fun being out there today and battling with other cars. The weather conditions were very tricky and I think we missed some good racing with the delayed start. But I was surprised how slippery it was when I first got out there so I came in and switched to Inters, which was the right choice. The Hard tyre seemed very robust and I think I could have pushed the second set we used more in hindsight. That's where we lost a couple of positions and finished outside the points."

Fernando Alonso: "We have been more competitive this weekend and P8 is a good result for us. There were a lot of things that happened in the race. We started with the dry tyres and put ourselves in a difficult position, but thankfully the Safety Car started a new race for us. There are not many weekends where we can score points, so we executed well and took the opportunity. Let's see if we can keep up this pace into Singapore where on paper we have some hope. The issues at the start were quite strange and we need to understand what happened there."

Esteban Ocon: "We had an amazing start to the race, running in P6. Of course, we were not going to stay there, but we looked good for points. As soon as we made the stop, we started going backwards, so we need to look into a few things. It's not the way we should end that race, and I'm sad for everyone who has done a good job on the car this weekend, but there are some choices we could've made differently. Potentially we could've kept fighting the Racing Bulls, where we should've been, but that's not where we've finished."

Oliver Bearman : "I lost 40 seconds out there, so it was a long afternoon, but the car was really fast, I was flying and able to catch up, and I could see the points 10 seconds ahead of me. The positive thing is that if we had made the right choice at the start with tires, we could've been fighting for points today. I hope that Singapore is a track that suits us more. I think the weather today helped us, being a bit cooler, but Singapore being a night race with a smooth track, those things should hopefully mean for a better weekend."

Nico Hulkenberg: "It was an eventful race, and overall, we were in the fight for points but ultimately finished P11 again. I was much happier with my performance compared to yesterday. At the beginning we made the right call to switch to the intermediates early and, although it cost us initially, we recovered that within a lap. This put us in a good position for the rest of the race. "There was plenty of wheel-to-wheel racing. In the end, though, we just didn't quite have the pace to hold on to the points. Realistically, we only got into that position because of trouble to the cars ahead, so it was always going to be a long shot. Still, it was a clean race from my side, many learnings for us as a team and now it's straight on to Singapore."

Gabriel Borteleto: "First of all, I want to apologise to Carlos. I made contact with him at the restart and, unfortunately, compromised his race, as well as my own. I got damage to both my front wing and floor, and then we were too far behind to fight for anything. It wasn't a clean race after that either, it was a difficult Sunday overall. Now we take the positives and look ahead to Singapore: hopefully we can have a good result there."

Pierre Gasly: "That was a tough day at the office. It was one of those days where it might go your way or it might not and, today, it clearly did not happen for us. After the suspended start, there was a long time waiting and we decided to start on Soft tyres. It made sense to all of us, and I supported the decision we made. I had a big moment on the formation lap trying to warm the tyres but managed to hang on and return to the track. It was a gamble which did not pay off as it was too wet and then took too long to dry and, like some others as well, we lost a lot of time on track. At that point you either have to come in and change the plan or try to make it work. We remained with our plan but, after that, everything seemed to go against us, there was nothing for us to capitalise on and, in the end, it was a painful day and a difficult result. We'll review everything as a team, stick together, and head to Singapore where we aim to return to the points. Finally, credit to the pit crew today. They had a busy afternoon with multiple stops and did a great job."

Franco Colapinto: "It was a pity how the race played out today. Given my starting position on the grid, and having the added variable of rain, it meant I was in the right position to take that sort of risk with the tyres. I thought given the conditions at the start of the race, we could have taken advantage of them and made some big gains, but the track did not dry quick enough, and we lost a lot of time. It surprised me, and some others, that the track took so long to dry. With the high ambient temperatures and rough track surface, we thought the conditions would quickly come to us, but it did not happen in the end. It did not look wet and there was not much spray, but it was greasy with very little grip. In hindsight it was not the right decision, but after that we did the best we could to recover. The pace on the dry tyres was very good and hopefully bodes well for the future races, where we need to put in some strong and consistent performances as a team to try and reduce the gap in the standings, which is still doable with the number of races left."

Sergio Perez: "It was a very hard race today. We thought it was going to dry up a lot quicker than it did, but from the first lap I realized it was really difficult to keep the car on track. "We made the decision to pit and, on the Intermediates, the car was actually quite competitive and we were closing the gap to the cars ahead. We managed to put a great gap on the cars behind, so the strategy was looking good at that point.

"Unfortunately, the Safety Car came out and bunched the field back together, which took away the advantage we had built and changed the picture of the race. It was a very challenging race and the feeling in the car was difficult at times. Some cars had a software-related issue at the beginning, which affected the running, and I understand this is something the FIA is looking into closely. I'm sure we'll learn from it and take those learnings forward into the future races."

Valtteri Bottas: "It was always going to be a risk starting on the slicks with the Soft tire compound and today, it didn't quite pay off. When the race started and I saw how fast the cars with the Intermediate tires went through, you quickly realize the situation you're in. We thought the track would dry quicker, and we thought it was worth trying something, but in the end it didn't work out. I took some risks trying to keep up with the pack and in the end it was my mistake that ended our race and I can only apologize to the team for that."